Afterlife
by Crazy Pink Penguin
Summary: Walker AU to my story 'Explosions'. Lots of sex, angst, drama, blood, and gore! No under 18's please!
1. In the beginning

**So this is the Walker AU spin-off of 'Explosions'. It's still in working progress, and the updates might not be very regular because I'm still trying to work through things, and there's still things I might change yet but I just wanted some feedback.**

**A few things: The Walkers happened around Chapter 7 of Explosions, but an Alternative chapter 7. So if you haven't read 'Explosions', I'd suggest reading Chapters 1-7. Although I'm adding flashbacks so hopefully it will make sense without having to read through 'Explosions!'**

**I'm starting this around season 4. I wanted to jump straight into the Walker-apocalypse so I'm using flash-backs so you can all see what happened before that(as mentioned above). I know flash-backs can get boring but I suggest giving them a chance because they do explain a lot!**

**Anyway, I think that's everything! I hope you like!**

* * *

**In the beginning**

She gazed upon the night sky through the swaying tree branches above her. Stars shone brightly, beautifully, and there wasn't a cloud in sight. She wished she could take a picture of it. It was funny really; you would've thought you would have time to do things like star gaze when the end of the world happened – not like there was much else to do – but you'd be wrong.

Not because you were too busy, or because there was always stuff that needed doing. No, it was because in the mist of survival, simple things – like star gazing – which made life worth living, was easily forgotten.

Taking a lung full of fresh air, she pulled her jacket tighter around her. Not because it was cold, just because she wanted the comfort. In fact, the night air was mostly warm, except for the odd breeze, and it was a rather calming feeling; a nice contrast to what they usually felt outside of the safety of their protective walls.

"-Yeah, man. Nice one." a deep voice spoke mid-sentence, a man she recognized as Daniels. He was an extremely good-looking guy with soft, brown eyes and dark brown hair. He was well built, from his previous occupation, and he was also the reason she was alive today. "What'd you think, Darcy?"

She blinked before turning her gaze away from the sky, and only realizing in the moment how much her neck ached from being in that position for so long. She reached a hand up and rubbed at it, hoping to relieve some of the soreness. "Uh," she started, remembering his question but not knowing what he meant by it. She shrugged sheepishly. "Sure, I guess."

The ex-solider rolled his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh as he rolled up an old map he'd previously had out in front of him. "You didn't listen to a word I said, huh?" he looked annoyed but his eyes held amusement.

She couldn't help but smile and she shook her head apologetically. "Sorry, honey."

"Oh, you'll be sorry." his voice was playful and his eyes held mischief. "Just you wait 'til I get my hands on you." It wasn't a threat; it was a promise which made her squeeze her legs shut, trying to contain some of her excitement.

"Looking forward to it." she replied swiftly with a small smirk.

"Oh, will you two stop flirting in front of me." their banter was interrupted by Jacob, who was also an ex-solider, and one of Daniels' long term friends. "I swear, I end up with a constant hard-on around you guys." he muttered, shaking his head and using his knife to shave the bark from a stick. Unlike Daniels, Jacobs hair was long, and blonde, and pulled up into a ponytail with sat at the base of his neck, and his eyes were green. He was also twenty-five, the same age as Darcy whereas Daniels was twenty-nine.

Daniels choked on a laugh; unfortunately, he was in the middle of drinking some water out of the bottle when his friend spoke, and now he was busy trying not to choke on the liquid. "Fuck, man." he coughed, covering his mouth with his fingerless-gloved hand. He leaned over and shoved his buddy. "Don't do that again."

Jacob only smirked and nudged him back before turning his attention to Darcy. "You know, Darcy-girl," she rolled her eyes at the nickname. "You've been with us for how long now?"

Daniels glanced between them, a confused frown on his face as he wondered where his friend was heading. "'Bout nine months now." he answered for her.

"Around that," she agreed, rearranging her back against the tree behind her and trying to get more comfortable. Well, as comfortable as you could against a freaking tree anyway. "Why?"

Jacob shrugged one-shoulder. "Just realized that you've never told us what you were doin' that day," he gestured around him with the knife and stick he was carving. "You know, when the world went to shit."

It was her turn to shrug. "Same as everyone else, I guess."

"Jacob, just leave it, man." Daniels told him, shaking his head disapprovingly. "S'rude to just ask shit like that."

"It's ok," Darcy smiled at him softly, reassuring him. "I just...woke up that morning. Heard a few things about it on the radio. Didn't think nothing of it, you know?" they both nodded, listening to her story. Daniels looked kind of hesitant, as if he wasn't sure about her talking - he knew her past was a sore subject - whereas Jacob looked very interested. He always was the nosey one. With a sigh, she leaned forward and grabbed a stick off the ground to fiddle with. "Then I had to go to work." She left out the fact that her 'work' wasn't probably what they thought it was. No way in hell would she tell them she used to work as a phone sex operator. "Heard more people talking about it. Saying it was getting worse." that was true. "I was driving back from work that night." A lie; she was driving to Sandy's strip club for her cover-shift. "When suddenly it all went to shit. Cars crashed. People died; children. There was blood everyone."

It was silent for a few moments, and Darcy repressed the urge to roll her eyes. _Don't ask a question if you aren't gonna reply to the answer._ She couldn't stand it any longer and mumbled to them, "I'm gonna get some sleep." before shifting herself into a laying position and pulling her jacket even tighter around her.

"Think I'll join ya." Daniels told her, and she heard him stand up before walking the few feet to where she laid. There was the sound of leafs scuffling before she felt his arm tucking itself underneath her head, letting her use it as a make-shift pillow.

"Night." she heard Jacob mumble to them, and then it was silence once again other than the noise of nature and the sound of the fire cracking.

* * *

"The Governorment has yet to answer any questions about the mysterious rabies-type virus," _ A ladies voice sounded through the radio while Darcy watched Jasmine fry their eggs. It was morning, and Darcy had barely been out of bed for half hour. Blinking sleepily, she rested her head on the counter in front of her and let out a yawn. "_Which leads us to ask: What on earth in going on?"

_Jasmine rolled her eyes and reached over to the radio, switching the station to something more cheerful. "They always try to make a big deal out of everything," she muttered, taking the eggs off the stove and using the spatula to move them onto the bread which laid open on the two plates next to her. "Bird flu, swine flu..." she listed, grabbing a bottle of ketchup and squirting the contents onto the food. "They turned out to be nothing worse than the common cold, and look how much attention and worry that got." turning around, she walked over to Darcy and placed the plates down. "I think they like making people panic. Want them to believe it's the end of the world so they go out and buy a load of crap."_

"_Mm," Darcy hummed sleepily, lifting her head up. She wasn't really paying attention to her Mother's rant; she felt like crap. Last night, sleep didn't come easy. She had this stupid idea to call Daryl, on her personal cell, and she couldn't decide whether or not she wanted to go through with it. Hence, the no sleep and feeling like shit. She knew her hair was messier than Fey's coat after she'd rolled in mud, and her mouth was drier than old lady Martha's panties, and all she wanted to do was crawl back into bed and catch up on the sleep she'd missed._

"_Smart move really," Jasmine continued, leaning forward against the counter and picking up her egg toasted sandwich. "If ya think you're gonna die, you're gonna wanna do, and buy, things you never got a chance to, huh?" she leaned forward and took a bite._

"_Uh huh." Darcy half-heartedly agreed, picking up her own sandwich and mirroring her Mother's actions. She wasn't really that hungry. Never was first thing in the morning but if she didn't eat now, she would have to cook later, something her tired body didn't want her doing. So it was easier to just say 'yes' when Jasmine offered to cook for her._

"_Wonder what I would do," Jasmine spoke thoughtfully. "I've always wanted to go to Paris. City of love." she smiled wishfully and spoke questioningly, "I wonder if Alec would take me..."_

"_'M sure he will, Ma." Darcy assured her with a yawn before taking a bite of her breakfast. She wondered what Daryl would do if he got a phone call off of her. Would he be mad? Or maybe, which she hoped, would he be happy?_

"We interrupt this station for some breaking news," _came over the radio, making Jasmine roll her eyes as she ate her sandwich. _"Reports of this virus are on the rise. Within the last half hour, the total casualties have risen by-"

"_So, tell me, sweetie," Jasmine spoke up once she had finished her mouthful. "How's everything with you and this Daryl guy?" she questioned casually._

"_S'good." Darcy told her, holding her sandwich in one hand while using the back of her other hand to rub the sleep out of her right eye. Jeez, she really needed to wake up. Her work line would be open in about half hour and she couldn't be talking to them like a brainless moron._

"_Just...good?" Jasmine pushed, wanting more details. Honestly, she was worried that this guy was trying to take her little girl for a ride, so she wanted to be 'in' on as much details as she could get. It was the only way she could try and stop her girls heart from being broke. _

_Darcy took one last bite before placing the crust back on her plate. She never ate the crust; had hated it since she was a child. She was the same with any other foods which was chewier than usual, and drier. Suppressing a yawn, she repeated. "Just good." before standing up, leaning over the counter, giving her Mom a kiss on the forehead and heading towards the stairs._

_She knew what her Mom was trying to do, and she wasn't going to fall for it. Plus, she really needed to get ready for work. She had a long day ahead of her. _

* * *

Her dream stayed with her as they walked to the designated town the next morning. It had been a few months since she had thought of him – Daryl – and it left her feeling emotional and shaky. She assumed that he was dead, like everyone else she cared about, and she tried her hardest not to think about the phone calls they shared.

It was easier that way; she didn't cry as much that way.

Her companions noticed her mood but didn't question her on it. She got like this every once in a while and they knew from experience that they should just leave her alone and let her work through her thoughts.

In her mind though, she just wished that she could have met him. Had the chance to know him better; see what he looked like. Although she doubted that it would make much difference. She couldn't remember what half the people she used to know looked like nowadays; it had been that long.

She didn't know if it would be easier on her, or harder, but something she desperately wished was that she remembered what he sounded like. His voice always made her feel safe, and in the beginning of _this thing_, she would often try to remember what it sounded like just to comfort her.

But as time went on, it was like his voice faded more and more whenever she tried to think of it until she was left with this dull tone in her head which sounded nothing like him.

"Darcy." Daniels whispered in her direction, making her turn to him, hand on her AK-45 which hung from the strap on her shoulder. Before the world went to shit, she had never even handled a weapon. The only way she survived for the first year and a half was because of stealth and her Mom's kitchen knife. It wasn't until she met Daniels, and he taught her how to use one, that she first touched a gun.

She quickly examined the street, making sure there was no threats. The town was small, and the roads were clear other than broken glass and old garbage. "Yeah?" she replied back quietly, turning her gaze to him.

"You know the drill," he told her, lifting his hand which didn't hold his gun and pointing towards a dusty corner shop. "In and out in five minutes; no more, no less."

Flashing him a small smirk, she purposely purred, "Yes, _sir_." before heading into the direction he pointed. She knew what shop he meant; it was the only shop over there which didn't look like it had been raided completely.

"Darcy..." he growled warningly behind her, making her laugh silently as she continued her path, making sure to keep her eyes on any alleys, or hidden areas where the dead could pop out of no where.

She peeked through the window when she reached it, searching for any movement but coming up with nothing. Glancing behind her one more time, she saw that her team-mates had headed into their own stores and she nodded to herself before glancing down and setting the timer on her watch.

_05:00._

Pulling open the door, she immediately began searching the shelves at the front of the store but found them all empty other than a few packs of cough sweets. _Ah well,_ she thought while shoving them into her ruck-sack, _you never know_.

By the time she finished with the front of the shop, a minute had passed, and she realized that she would most likely be finished before the five-minutes was up. So she decided to be extra thorough and headed towards the back corner of the store where three shelves laid slanted against a fourth shelf which rested flat against the wall.

It took a few attempts but she managed to stand them up, and saw a few forgotten bottles on the floor, most likely where they had fallen off from whoever moved the shelves. She recognized two of the bottles as _Xanax_ and painkillers. Shoving them into her bag, she made a move to leave the store when something caught her eye.

A door was barely visible behind where the fourth shelf stood against – what she thought had been – the wall. With a small frown, she hiked her bag onto her shoulders before moving back to it and gripping the metal with her hands.

It screeched along the floor, making her wince, and say, "_Shh."_ as if it would listen to her. Of course, it didn't, and she knew that there was a Walker behind the door from the weak pounding which started, most likely triggered by all the noise she was making.

Once she had managed to pull it out of the way, the pounding was louder, and she glanced down at her watch once more.

_02:45_

She would have to be quick, she decided while pulling her knife out of the holster attached to her thigh. Holding it ready above her head, she moved towards the door and stood in front of it. Counting to three, she pushed the door open with force, knocking the Walker behind it over.

The Walker stumbled - luckily it was only the one – and she grabbed hold of the green shirt it wore before yanking it up and forcing the blade of her weapon into it's right eye socket with a _squelch._ It's weight grew heavy as whatever life it had disappeared and she let it fall to the ground.

Wiping her blade on the top of her shorts, she cleaned all the blood away before placing it back into her holster and glancing at her watch once again.

_02:28_

Licking her lips, she turned her attention to the hidden room she stood in and pivoted, searching for anything which could be of use. It was an office, compete with a computer, desk and chair. Oh, and a plant, but that was pretty much it.

Blowing a breath between her lips, she muttered, "Awesome." before heading towards the desk. As much as she wanted to leave it, she knew from experience that you found unexpected things in unusual places, and she couldn't _not _look just in case.

The first two draws were useless – nothing but paper work - but in the third, she found a mutli-pack of tissues, chewing gum and half a bottle of antibiotics. "Least we have something to wipe our asses with." she mumbled with a shrug and pulled her bag off her back once more so she could place the stuff she found in it.

She went to leave when she noticed something on the ground under the desk; it was a small strip of paper and she knelt down to pick it up, feeling curious.

The white paper was scrunched up and she smoothed it out with her thumb, making her realize what it was; it was one of those things you found inside a fortune cookie. She read what it said with a small laugh. "_Something wonderful is about to happen."_

Rolling her eyes, she placed the paper on the desk before turning and leaving the room. "Think I'd rather have the damn cookie." _And_ she didn't even like the taste of them that much, but nowadays, food was food.

She was just about to exit the store when shouting appeared from down the street, soon followed by men she didn't recognize walking out of a shop with a gun pointed to Jacob's head. She ducked behind the front display, her heart pounding in her chest. "Where the hell is Jack?" she whispered quietly to herself. Jack was Daniels' first name; Daniels' being his surname, the name he preferred to go by.

"Got anoth'r one 'ere!" drawled one of the unfamiliar men as he exited another one of the shops. He had something that looked like a crossbow pointed to Daniels' head as he walked him towards the others.

"Oh fuck." she breathed out, her eyes widening when she realized that she was the only one who could get them out of this situation. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..."

"Ya'll got anyone else you ain't tellin' us about, huh?" The man with the crossbow drawled angrily, shoving the weapon in Daniels face.

"No." Daniels replied roughly, his hands on his head.

"Don't trust 'em, Rick." he drawled again, shaking his head while not once losing eye contact. "Bay-watch here said the same damn thing."

"Hey." Jacobs frowned, offended at the nickname. His hair wasn't _that_ long and blonde.

"Shut up." Both Daniels and the crossbow guy snapped at him.

The man – presumably Rick – nodded and ran a hand down his face before turning to the third guy next to him. "Glenn, lets go and check it out," he turned back to the crossbow guy. "Can you handle 'em?"

Crossbow nodded. "No way am I getting' taken down by these two pansies."

Darcy bit her lip. Hard. She couldn't she let them come looking. They would find her then they would have no chance getting out of this situation. Suddenly, an idea came to her and she clumsily pulled her walkie-talkie off her belt and brought it up to her mouth.

"Let them go." she ordered, hearing the faint sound of her voice in the distance. It was that moment her watch began to vibrate and she glanced down at it. _00:00._

Rick seemed to freeze at that and shared a look between his men before reaching towards Jacob and grabbing the walkie-talkie off his belt. "Someone there?" Rick spoke, his voice low and threatening.

"More than one." she lied, hoping she didn't sound as shaky as she felt. "Got a sniper aimin' at everyone of your guys heads." They all seemed to stiffen at that and she held in her smile. _Gotcha_.

He didn't speak into the radio this time, instead he spoke to the crossbow guy. "You think she's tellin' the truth?"

Crossbow shrugged. "Ain't no way'a tellin'." he replied. "But we can't take the risk."

"Your man with the crossbow is a smart one." she said, mostly just wanting to scare them, and from the glances they gave each other, it succeeded. "Want'chu to let my men go, or I'll order 'em to shoot."

Suddenly, the guy with a crossbow glanced around, an expression on his face she couldn't read from this distance, and then he grabbed Rick and stepped close to him, whispering something in his ear. Rick nodded once before placing the walkie-talkie in front of his mouth. "We don't want anyone to get hurt," he told her, his voice softer than before. "You step out of your hiding place and we'll do what you want."

She frowned, not liking the sound of that but knowing she didn't have much choice. "You try anything funny..."

"They'll shoot. Understood." he spoke one last time before lowering the walkie-talkie and glancing around.

She took a deep breath before standing up, gun raised. They didn't spot her at first, and she managed to step out the door just before crossbow noticed her and jerked his head in her direction. He didn't move his weapon away from Daniels or Jacob but his eyes were on her.

Rick didn't raise his own weapon. Instead he held up his hands in a calming manner as she approached. "I was hoping we could do this peacefully." he hinted, glancing at her gun.

She knew that he wanted her to lower her weapon but... "It ain't happening." she told him, stopping a few feet away. "You gonna let 'em go, or what?"

"Uh, yeah-" he went to speak but interrupted himself by taking a quick step forward and grabbing the front of her gun, pushing the barrel away from their direction.

It caused her to accidentally fire, making them all wince at the sound, and she tried tugging the gun away from him with a shout of "Hey!" but then she realized that she had fallen straight into their trap; Rick was only the distraction.

Arms appeared from behind her, one pining her arms to her body while the other covered her mouth, knowing she was gonna scream at the suddenly movement, and she did, but the sound was muffled. In the background, she heard Daniels and Jacob shouting, and she noticed that Crossbow was no longer pointing his weapon at them; the man Rick had called 'Glenn' was, which meant that Crossbow was the one behind her.

She tried to tell him to get off of her but it was stopped by his hand. She thrashed against him, hearing him grunt as he tried to keep hold of her.

"Easy, ya liddol spit-fire." he drawled, his voice strained as his arms tightened. "Ain't no need ta hurt ya if ya be good, now."

She didn't listen and opened her mouth so she could sink her teeth into his hand. _Hard._ It distracted him long enough to remove his hand, and now that she was less restricted, she slammed her head back against his nose, hearing him curse loudly and stumble back.

She could taste his blood in her mouth, dripping down her lip and she wiped it away before reaching for her gun again, only to find Rick pointing it in her face. For a moment, she just frowned, wondering how the hell he got it off of her but then she noticed the broken strap dangling down by his hands; it must have broken in the struggle.

Defeated and breathing heavily, she held up her hands and gave him a sheepish smile. "Uh...sorry?" was the only thing she could think of saying.

* * *

**So you can probably see that Darcy and Daniels have some sort of romantic thing going on. I promise that it all just adds to the drama, and Darcy and Daryl will still end up together. It just means we get to see alot of jealous and possessive Daryl when they find out exactly who each other are ;). Trust me on this, it's going to be good!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Introductions

**Thanks so much to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited and followed! I'm so glad everyone is hyped up for this!**

* * *

**Introductions**

"Sorry? _Sorry?!"_ Crossbow yelled angrily, his voice muffled slightly by his hands which cupped his bleeding nose. He stalked towards her, his eyes blazing. "Dumb _bitch_. Ya prolly broke my damn _nose_, and ya'll _sorry?!"_

Huffing, she crossed her arms over her chest, not feeling an ounce of guilt. "If you're gonna start calling me names then I'll take my apology back." she retorted childishly

He removed his hands, showing his gushing nose, nostrils flaring angrily as he stood chest-to-chest with her. "Ya'll damn lucky I don't hit _liddol girls._" his head tilted slightly as he spat his words at her. "Or ya'll would be on the floor right now. _Guarantee_ it."

She scoffed, letting her arms fall to her side and ignoring the gun pointed at her head by Rick, who was warning her off but she didn't listen. "_Little_ girl?" she questioned, staring Crossbow dead in the eye. No way was she gonna back down; she'd dealt with worse men before. Plus, he said he didn't hit women, so that made her more confident. She smirked at him. "Well, this _little girl_, just floored your ass, _Redneck_. How'd you feel about that?"

Crossbow didn't get a chance to respond because Rick was grabbing her arm, pulling her away and pushing her in the direction of her two friends.

"Control her." Rick ordered them, raising his pistol and watching as Daryl and Glenn did the same with their weapons.

Daniels was the one who caught her, pulling her slightly behind them and giving her a warning look. "Let us handle this, yeah?" he suggested.

She scoffed, knowing he was only doing that because she was a woman and they were men, so that immediately made them stronger than her. Before she met them, she might have agreed with that, but now she knew exactly what she was worth, thanks to them. "Yeah, 'cause you were handling it so well before I came along, huh?" she pointed out, feeling like a moody teenager despite being twenty-five years old.

"She always runnin' her mouth off like tha'?" Crossbow questioned them, taking one hand off his bow and using the back of it to wipe his swelling nose. Blood continued to drip out of it, causing him to keep repeating the action.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, _Sor-ry," _she drew the word out sarcastically, holding up her hands._ "-_if people pointing guns at me and my friends pisses me off."

Crossbow rolled his eyes. "Ya wanna shut up already 'fore I make ya?"

She flashed him a suggestive smile. "How you gonna do that, big boy?" Hey, don't judge; he may be an ass, but he was _hot_ ass.

His eyes widened at her words and his mouth opened and closed as he shifted uncomfortably. Eventually he settled with a simple. "Whatever." before glancing away.

Next to her Daniels rolled his eyes while she just continued to smirk, and she even heard Rick cough to hide his laugh at the exchange.

"Anyway," Daniels spoke up. "What is it you guys want from us?"

Rick's face turned serious. "Three questions."

Daniels shared a looked with Jacob, who nodding slowly before turning back to Rick. "Go on." his voice was sceptical.

"How many Walkers you kill?"

Daniels glanced between his friends once again before raising an eyebrow at Rick. "All together or.."

Crossbow rolled his eyes and answered instead of Rick. "Each."

Darcy went first, feeling their gazes turn to her and she shrugged. "Haven't kept count. Didn't know I was supposed to."

Rick turned his gaze to Daniels next, looking at him expectingly.

"Same here, man." Daniels told him honestly.

"Me too." Jacob piped up, knowing it would be him next. "Do you ask everyone that? Stupid question if ya ask me..."

"I kinda agree," the quiet one called Glenn spoke up, sounding sheepish. "I say we vote on changing it at the next board meeting."

"Shullup." Daryl mumbled to him, rolling his eyes. "Next question: How many people you kill?"

Daniels gave him an almost haunting look. "Before or after the world went to hell?"

Crossbow squinted his eyes at him dangerously. "_Before_?" he spat questioningly, wantin' to know why the hell he might of killed _before_ the world ended. _We deal__i__n' with a murderer or wha'?_

Seeing that things were about to take a turn for the worse, Darcy butted in. "They used to be in the military."

Rick nodded understandingly and clarified for them. "After."

"Two." Daniels answered, his eyes darkening.

"Why?" Rick questioned.

He sighed and took a quick glance at Darcy before telling them, "Cause they were tryin' to hurt someone I cared for."

Daryl didn't miss the way her eyes lowered as he spoke, or the way she shifted awkwardly on her feet. He gave him a curt nod before turning to Jacob. "What 'bout you, boy?"

"One." he spoke quietly. It was a memory which haunted his dreams. "Brother got bit...begged me to."

"And you?" Rick questioned, turning to Darcy.

"No one." she answered honestly with a slight shrug.

Rick and his group were silent for a moment before they lowered their weapons and Rick nodded approvingly at them. "If you guys need a place to stay..." he trailed off suggestively.

"We're fine." Daniels told him with a hint of a smile. "We've got our own place." he chuckled, glancing at Darcy. "Anyway, I think our girl and your guy would probably tear each other apart."

Rick also let out a laugh. "Seems that way." he agreed, holding out his hand. "Sorry about all that. Can never be too sure. I'm Rick."

Daniels took it. "Daniels. First name Jack but everyone calls me Daniels." Yup, he was named after the drink. He flicked his head to Jacob. "This is Jacob, and this-" he wrapped an arm around Darcy's shoulders, pulling her close. "-Is my girl, Darcy."

Rick nodded, noticing the contact between them. "Are you two..."

Darcy and Daniels shared a look before Darcy answered with a small shrug. "Kinda."

Rick nodded again before gesturing to Glenn. "This is Glenn, and the guy you floored-" he chuckled lightly when Crossbow threw him an annoyed look. "-Is Daryl."

Darcy had put a polite smile on her face as they made their introductions, nodding along with them, but when Rick told them Crossbow's name, the smile fell from her and her throat constricted slightly. _Daryl..._

_"Hey, ____you__." Darcy purred, her voice picked up by her ear-piece. It was her normal greeting which made the clients feel more comfortable, more familiar, and more special when they called, even if it was the first time they'd ever done so. It also had a surprising amount of sex appeal to it and made the men feel as if she'd been waiting for them specifically._

_"____Hey." __A gruff, southern drawl sounded in her ear. It was a low mumble, one she didn't recognise – and she was sure she would have remembered it – making her believe that he was new to their sex line._

_"My names Kay," Not a completely lie; it was her middle name. "How can I help you tonight?" she trailed off suggestively, making herself more comfortable as she laid back against her sofa, wearing nothing but a over-sized bed shirt and panties, her usual lounging clothes._

_It was silent for a moment and she briefly wondered if he had hung up on her before she heard him mutter: "____This is fuckin' stupid. Dunno t'fuck I was thinkin'-"_

_"Wait!" she quickly said before he could hang up, something she suspected he was about to do. It wasn't uncommon for clients to let their nerves get the better of them, and after doing this for two years, she knew exactly how to keep them on the line. "You're just gonna leave me like this?" she forced out a realistic whimper, almost sounding as if she was in pain. "But I ____need __you…" She bit her lip, not because he could see it but because it helped her play her part._

_It was silent once again but there was no dial tone, signalling that he was still on the line and the faint sound of him inhaling sharply after she'd spoken let her know that she had caught his attention._

_Hiding the smile which threatened to appear, she forced herself to stay in character. "What's your name?" she spoke softly, almost as if she was afraid to scare him off._

_"____Daryl." __He told her after a moment of hesitation._

Blinking away the memory, she realized that everyone else had got lost in conversation, not noticing her getting lost in her thoughts, and she frowned at herself, wishing the pain would go away but knowing it wouldn't; it never did.

Of course his name was going to be Daryl. A perfect reminder of her past, of the man she developed feelings for but never got a chance for it to be more. A man who was probably dead now. Blowing out a breath, she reminded herself that now was _not_ the time for this and concentrated on the conversation in front of her while casually nudging Daniels arm off her shoulders.

It felt wrong for him to touch her when her mind was on a different man.

He didn't notice though and carried on talking to Rick. "-We're out on a scouting mission. Lost our car yesterday and had to set up camp for the night before walking to town."

Rick shared a look with Glenn who shrugged. "We might be able to help," Rick replied slowly. "We could probably spare one of our vehicles, and gas, if you'd be willing to share any food you have to spare."

Daniels pondered on the offer before nodding thankfully. "Ol' lady Green planted us some crops. We can let some of them go; could even give you some seeds to grow your own."

Rick looked surprised but happy to hear that. "That would be great. Thank you." he said, sounding genuine. "We should probably clear out the rest of the town before we leave." he suggested, and Daniels nodded in agreement. "It'll be dark by the time we get back but you're welcome to stay the night." he told them, handing Darcy over her gun.

"Thanks." she told him, looking down at the weapon and examining the broken strap; It was ripped at the seam, and when she got back, she could probably get one of the women to fix it for her but for now, she tied it together with a knot before placing it over her head.

"Sounds like a plan." Jacob agreed.

* * *

When they headed back into the stores, Daniels and Rick both thought it would be a good idea to go in pairs; one from Rick's group teamed up with someone from Daniels' group. Really, it was just a not-so-obvious way of saying, '_Lets keep an eye on eachother'._

Luckily, Darcy didn't get teamed up with Daryl like she feared; she wasn't sure she'd be able to say his name, or look at him without thinking of _him._ Instead she got paired with Glenn, and she had a feeling that because he was smaller, they didn't trust him to watch over one of the men.

"So, how long you been with those guys?" Glenn questioned while searching through a messy clothes shop. Clothes wasn't something they needed urgently but if they came across them, and they had enough room, they made sure to take some.

Darcy shrugged, stuffing a handful of underwear into her rucksack. She had wanted some new ones for a while, and she made sure to pick up extra in case some of the women at camp did as well. "Six, seven, eight months." She told him, unsure of the exact number. "Could even be a year. Don't really keep track anymore, you know?"

He nodded understandingly and packed away some clothes in his bag. "I know what you mean. We used to have a guy who..." He trailed off, his voice growing pained. "Dale. His name was Dale, and he used to remind us what day it was before he..." He waved his hand.

"Died?" She offered with a sad smile, knowing exactly what it was like to loose someone you cared about. Then again, there wasn't many people who didn't know the feeling. He nodded and she added: "M'sorry."

He shrugged and offered his own smile as a mutual understanding passed between them. "It happens."

They worked mostly in silence after that, other than the odd, "Your group need this?" and "Any use to you guys?". Oh, and one point, Glenn told her "Behind you!" because of an approaching Walker she hadn't noticed; it must have appeared from the dressing rooms behind her, and she quickly took care of their little problem with the knife in the back of her pants, the one Daryl had given back to her. The bastard had managed to steal it when he grabbed hold of her without her even realizing, making _her_ realize that she needed to keep an eye on him because out of them all, he seemed to be the most skilled.

When she felt a small vibration on her wrist, she glanced at her watch and saw that the _ten minutes_ was up. Because the store she was searching was bigger, and their was two people searching it, they added an extra five minutes, knowing that it would take more time to search, and with two people, there was less chance of danger.

Mentally, she counted to thirty, knowing that her team-mates watches had also gone off, and if they were in danger, they'd either _(a)_ move away and find a safe distance for them to call in, or _(b)_ they wouldn't reply, letting the others know that it was time to go and look for them.

_Twenty-eight, twenty-nine and..._"Thirty." she mumbled. Unhooking her radio, she brought it up to her mouth and spoke quietly. "This is DK checking in. What's your status?" DK was her codename, something Daniels had told her to use. He had explained to her why, but she'd been distracted at the time, and couldn't remember...It wasn't exactly easy concentrating when someone was fingering you into oblivion.

"JD here." Jack Daniels.

"JS at your service." Jacob was last to respond, the 'S' standing for Smith, his surname. "Hey, any chance we could swap teammates?" he questioned quietly, sounding like he was whispering. "This guy – Daryl – ain't talkin' much and keeps giving me the _evil eye_."

Darcy chuckled silently, turning her head towards Glenn when she heard him let out his own laugh.

"Sounds like Daryl." Glenn told her with amusement when he caught her gaze over the forrest of clothing rails. "When we first met him, he used to give it to us all the time...scared the crap outta me." he shook his head with a grin.

"Sorry, man," Daniels' voice appeared through the radio, his voice not sounding at all sorry. Instead it was amused. "As fun as he sounds, I kinda like the guy I'm stuck with."

"Aww," Jacob whined with a huff. "Darcy?" he tried, sounding desperate.

"Sorry. We'd probably kill each other." she told him, although that wasn't the real reason. She didn't mind the bickering between her and their Crossbow guy; she just didn't want to have to say his name – which she would end up having to do if she was with him – it reminded her too much of _her Daryl_.

"You guys suck."

* * *

It took them half an hour to search all the shops, the ones that looked like they might have supplies in. In the end, they took back more clothes than anything else. Although Darcy got lucky and found a shelf full of baby-wipes in the clothes store by the cash registers

The car was a tight squeeze, and Darcy found herself sitting in Daniels lap in the back seat, something he wasn't too happy about. When she'd asked him why, he had told her in an irritated whisper: _"T'hell am I supposed to sit here, hours on end, with a hard-on and not do anything about it?"_

At which point she had laughed and purposely wiggled against him, making him groan in the back of his throat before whispering innocently in his ear: _"I can sit on someone else's lap, if you want?"_

"_Sureee,"_ he threw back, a teasing smile on his lips. _"You and Daryl would have a ball." _Of course, he spoke sarcastically, knowing that her and Daryl would more than likely rip each other's heads off.

She'd forced a smile, sadly thinking about all the fun times her and _her Daryl_ had once had together, and pretending that Daniels words didn't effect her the way they really had.

After that, Darcy remained quiet, her head resting against Daniels shoulder as the others made small talk. Daryl was sitting in the passengers seat while Rick drove, and Jacob was sitting in the middle seat in the back, with Glenn on one side of him and Darcy and Daniels on the other.

Without realizing it, her eyes started to fall close, and the vibrations from the car rocked her to sleep, where she found herself inside another memory.

_"____T'fuck, Darcy?" __his voice wasn't angry; it was confused.____"Why ya callin' me, girl? Ya a'ight?"_

_"I'm fine," she assured him, relaxing when she realized that he wasn't going to get angry at her for calling. As far as she knew, she could be interrupting something and he would rather she didn't try and cross the lines between client and friendship. "I just…It might sound stupid but…" Great, now she was rambling. She took a breath, trying to find the right words. "I don't want you to call anymore unless it's on my personal cell." She told him before adding. "____This __number."_

_The confusion stayed. ____"T'hell? Why's tha'?"_

_"Cause I don't wanna charge you no more." she really hoped that this didn't make him uncomfortable but… "You're my friend, and I ____really __enjoy our calls so…"_

_He was silent and she was worried that he had hung up._

_"Daryl?" she said hesitantly, her fingers twisting in her bed covers as she fidgeted nervously._

_"'____M here."__He assured her, his voice wavering slightly. ____"Jus' dunno wha' ta say."_

_She smiled slightly, her heart pounding in her chest. She hoped him not knowing what to say wasn't a bad thing… "I told you I'd show you that you're special."_

_"____Ain't special." __He reminded her.____"This…Tell me it ain't some kinda charity. Say ya ain't feelin' bad for me 'cause I didn't have no money ta call ya before."_

_"That's not what this is." She told him immediately, hearing the slight anger in his voice at the idea. "I consider you a friend, Daryl, and you shouldn't have to pay to talk to a friend."_

_"____A friend." __It sounded like he was shaking his head. ____"Don't even know me, girl."_

_Her throat constricted slightly. Had she made the wrong move? Fuck, she shouldn't have done this. "I know that you have a brother called Merle who has an alcohol and drug problem." She told him, talking without thinking. "I know you like to hunt, and that you work as a mechanic. I know that you like your women all natural and kinda kinky." She smiled slightly. "I know that you're pretty shy and awkward when you aren't turned on, and you don't think very highly of yourself. You also don't like it when people say 'thank you'."_

_He huffed a laugh. ____"A'ight, a'ight, I get'cha." __He told her before going serious. ____"I jus' don't think you'd feel the same way if we met, s'all. If ya really knew me."_

_"I'd like to get to know you." She told him, once again without thinking. She quickly rushed out her next words, not wanting to give him time to think about what she had just said. "We don't have to if you don't wanna. We can just stay as we are. It was just an idea." She shrugged, trying to act as if it didn't bother her._

_"____S'not like tha'." __He told her. ____"Jus'…Don't think you know what'cha gettin' yourself into, sweetheart."_

_"I don't care."_

_"____Ya like playin' with fire?"_

_"Only if that fire is you." She retorted with a smile._

_He huffed a laugh. ____"A'ght then." __He eventually gave in. ____"What'cha doin' anyway? Shouldn't ya be workin' instead'a stalkin' ya clients?" __he questioned almost teasingly._

_She let out a laugh. "I just can't help myself. It's an illness."_

_He sounded amused.____"Should get that looked at."_

_"Nah, I quite like it." She glanced over at the clock next to her and sighed when she spotted the time. "I gotta get going. My Mom's friend needs someone to cover for the night, and that lucky person is me."_

_"____Tha' mean ya ain't takin' calls tonight?" __he questioned pointedly, sounding disappointed at the idea._

_She knew what he was getting at and her voice was regretful. "Unfortunately, but I can't turn her down. She's done a lot for us."_

_He made a 'tch' noise.____"Well damn. Hope the pays worth it. What'cha coverin' for anyways?"_

_She winced, hoping that he wouldn't think any less of her. "Uh…A stripper." She told him before clearing her throat awkwardly._

_He seemed to choke on his own voice for a moment before repeating. ____"A stripper?" __he whistled. ____"Damn. I don't like the idea of all them blokes grabbin' at ya n' whatnot but…I wouldn't mind havin' a front row seat to see tha'."_

_Her heart skipped for some reason, maybe because he admitted that he didn't like the idea of other guys touching her, and she couldn't help but smile. "Maybe someday, huh?"_

"_Maybe someday." he repeated, although his voice was less sure. "Be careful tonight, yeah? Some crazy shit goin' on."_

_She smiled slightly, flattered that he was worried for her safety. "I will be." she reassured him, licking her lips. "Give you a call tomorrow?"_

"_Can try, dunno if y'all get through though," he told her sounding disappointed. "Goin' huntin' with my Pa, Jess an' Buck."_

"_Oh," her mouth formed an 'O', not really knowing what else to say. "Well, I hope you have a good time."_

* * *

When she woke up, they were pulling up outside of a large building and she lifted her head from Daniels shoulder, seeing him smile at her softly from the corner of her eye. She wasn't paying attention though, she was too busy looking in front of her.

"A prison?" she mumbled, her mouth open slightly in surprise. Damn, it was a nice play for them to hole up. Probably not as safe as the army base they lived at, but it had to be the second safest place she had seen since the world ended.

"Home, sweet, home." Daryl mumbled as they approached the front gates. There seemed to be two sets of them, and the front ones were make-shift. They looked like some kind of metal doors and pointed outwards like the tip of a triangle. She was confused as to why until they opened outwards, sending a few staggering Walkers straight into a wooden trap which laid next to the doors. The sticks impaled the Dead's bodies, not killing them but effectively stopping them from being a threat.

Then the second set of gates opened and Darcy could see two people standing there. One was a pretty girl, probably around the same age as Darcy, with short brown hair, and the other was an older woman, around forty, with short grey hair. They both held guns in their hands and stood to the side while Rick entered the premises.

Once the car was through, the two women closed the gates again with some kind of pull-y system before jogging towards the car.

Darcy couldn't help but be impressed. They had certainly worked hard on this place. "Nice." she commented, opening the door when the car stopped and climbing out. They all did the same.

Rick gave her a small smile. "We've worked hard." he told her, his voice soft. "Shed a lot of blood."

"What's with the guard tower?" Jacob questioned, pointing towards a damaged tower next to the prison.

"We were attacked." Glenn told him as he embraced Maggie who just reached them. He exchanged looks with Rick, who nodded, giving him the go-ahead. "A man called the Governor. Complete nutcase."

"The Governor..." Daniels mumbled with a frown.

"Know 'im?" Daryl questioned, seeing the look on his face and tensing up.

"I think so," Daniels told him with a distant nod. "Remember me telling you about those guys I killed? I heard 'em talking while the were trying to..." he trailed off, clearing his throat. "They said something about how the Governor would be proud of 'em."

Darcy's eyes widened in recognition. Although she was barely conscious at the time, it definitely rang a bell. Daryl didn't miss the look on her face.

"Didn't think much of it at the time," Daniels continued. "But now...guess it could be the same guy."

Rick nodded thoughtfully before gesturing to the car. "C'mon, we'll talk about this later." he told them, walking round to the back of the car and popping open the boot. "Let's get you guys introduced to everyone."

* * *

**Now I don't usually like stories where the OFC's group has everything and it seems like a dream...mostly because it's been done alot but I'm mostly adding it because I want Darcy and Daryl to be able to have a happy ending, and have somewhere they can settle down in when the story ends. For some reason I just hate the idea of ending a story with everyone still on the run. And I don't have the heart to kill either of them off as a ending lol.**

**Someone asked me whether this would follow season 4, and my answer is no. It _will_ have certain story-lines. Like the virus and the Governor but it will go down different because of Darcy and her group being involved, so it won't feel like you're reading the episode lol. I'm mostly adding that stuff in because I feel like it gives Darcy and Daryl more scenes together, and puts them together more. **

**Anyway...thanks for reading!**


	3. Green

**Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited and followed!**

**marschocobars22: **Yes, I did promise you possessive Daryl and trust me when I say there's gonna be plenty of it. Yum yum! haha.

**0rchidd: **Hahaha, it totally is like knowing an inside joke! I love how you put that!

**jeanf: **Thanks for the lovely review! Yep, we will be seeing what happened to Darcy when the outbreak happened to present time. We'll also see what's happened to Jasmine. I think you're right about Darcy and Jack. More will be revealed in time :D!

* * *

**Green**

Darcy was surprised to see how many people were cramped into one cell block considering the size of the prison, but then Rick explained to them that they had yet to clear out most of the prison, and most of the people they had only recently taken in. He also told them that they were in the process of clearing out another cell block to make more space.

So far, they had been introduced to Maggie, Carl, Hershel and Carol, who were all the original members of the group. Then there was people like Karen and Tyreese, who had only recently joined them.

They found it particularly interesting when they found out that the new people were from Woodbury, the Governor's old town.

"So how long have you been here?" Daniels questioned as they over-looked the yard where children were playing on the grass.

"Few weeks now." Rick told them, one hand on his hip while the other rested against the fence in front of him. "It's not very home-y but...it's safe, and that's what's important."

"Can't go wrong with 'safe'." Jacob spoke up, a small smile on his lips. "Just wait til you see our set-up. Smells like gun-powder and old socks but it does the job."

Rick chuckled, pulling away from the fence and turning to them with a small nod. "Daniels said that you'd taken over your old military base," he spoke with approval. "Bet ammunition and weapons ain't an issue for you."

Jacob grinned and nodded. "You're right about that. We've got enough to keep us goin' for years."

Darcy almost rolled her eyes at how proud he sounded. It was like a father talking to another farther about how much better his son was at football.

"Think you could spare a few?" Rick questioned, his tone hopeful. "With the Governor still out there...You can imagine how desperate we are for the extra protection."

Daniels rubbed a hand over his stubble, considering his words. "I'll speak to the guy in charge, but I think I'd be able to work somethin' out for ya."

Rick cracked a smile. "We'd really appreciate it."

* * *

At dinner time, Darcy felt like they were some kind of royalty. Carol served them their meals with a polite smile, and Rick and Daryl joined them at the table. She didn't mind Rick as much but it was Daryl she would rather had stayed away.

Not only was his name the same as _her Daryl's, _but the more she heard him speak, the more she thought he sounded like him too.

"-We could also throw in some AK's, grenades, smoke bombs...Hell, we even got a few rolls of Barb-wire if ya need that." Daniels told them while they sat around the table, eating their bowl of rice and beans.

Rick's eyes seemed to light up even more with every item listed. "You have no idea how much all this would mean to us," it was obvious that they haven't had the easiest few months, or maybe even years.

Darcy gave a sad, knowing smile. The majority of people they came across was rotten and just pure evil. It's why they stopped taking people in, unless they were sure the people were good. They didn't have to worry about losing their base - they had enough weapons and ammo to defend themselves, which is why they didn't have to be as cautious around new-comers as she imagined Rick and his group had to be.

"Hey, man, don't worry about it," Daniels waved him off with his own understanding smile. "We should be stickin' together nowadays. God knows we need the numbers."

Rick nodded in agreement. "Still. It's nice to know there are others out there, like us." A moment of mutual respect passed between the two men before Rick turned to the female of the group, realizing he'd barely spoke to her since they'd arrived. "So, Darcy, right?"

Darcy went to reply when suddenly Daryl stood up, chair screeching and half his food forgotten as he mumbled somethin' about checking the perimeter before walking off.

Darcy frowned, watching his back as he left the room and wondering what his problem was. "Yeah, that's right." She told Rick, turning her attention back to him.

Rick had his own frown on his face, also wondering why Daryl had just walked off. He knew the hunter could have a short fuse but that didn't explain his sudden cold attitude. He decided to shrug it off for now. Daryl wasn't a man who could be easily understood. "What'd you do before all this?" he questioned her, bringing his fork up to his mouth and taking a mouthful of food.

She told him exactly what she'd told Jacob and Daniels, and anyone else who asked her nowadays. "I worked at a call centre."

Rick nodded conversationally and then the table went silent, no one really sure what to say.

Great – if there was one thing she hated more than the Dead walking around, it was awkward silences. She wasn't great at making small talk. Never knew what to say, or what questions to ask, so she always avoided the situation the best she could, which usually involved walking away.

Something she found herself doing right now. Pushing her mostly finished bowl away, she stood up, giving Rick a small smile. "Thanks, uh, for the meal." She turned to Daniels. "I'm gonna go and get some fresh air."

"Alright, sexy." Daniels responded, flashing her his signature side smirk.

Usually it would make her neither regions twist and burn up until she was desperate to get him alone but right now, it didn't do anything for her. Her mind was elsewhere, on a completely different man who had stolen her heart a long time ago and never take it back. Maybe that's why her feelings for Daniels never went beyond friendship and lust.

Darcy's lips turned up at him, although it was forced, before she headed out of the cafeteria and into the yard where a fresh wave of air hit her pleasantly.

It was dark out, and like the night before, the stars shone brightly as if the end of the world never happened. Then again, they were god-knows how many light-years away. Maybe they just hadn't had time to catch up yet.

Looking down, she heard a noise to her right which was soon followed by a curse. Following the sound, she saw Daryl leaning his back against a bike while trying rather desperately to shove something back into his pant pocket.

Inwardly, she sighed, knowing that this man was the reason _why_ she was trying to escape and get some time to herself yet fate seemed to be pushing them together. It wasn't in her to be rude though – her mother had brought her up better than that. "Are you alright?" she questioned, clearing her throat awkwardly after she'd spoken.

He made a noise which sounded like a grunt as he finally managed to slide the object back where it belonged. "Fine," he snapped before scoldin' himself. It weren't her fault that she'd startled him while he was havin' a moment alone. "You?" he forced himself to ask. Really, he wanted to get away – go back to his cell and ignore everyone 'til mornin' but he couldn't be an ass, 'specially when she was goin' out her way – for whatever reason – to be civil with him.

"Uh huh," she replied before inwardly wincing at how much of a lie that sounded. From the look on his face, he caught onto it, and seemed to argue with himself for a moment before shruggin' and pushin' himself off his bike.

He didn't say nothin' as he walked past her, headin' for the door so he could go back to his cell. He just about got it open when her voice made him stop.

"Sorry about…you know." She told him with a weak smile, gesturing to his face. "Thought you were gonna hurt us and-"

He interrupted her, hatin' touchy feely moments like this one. "Ain't nothin'. I get it," he told her before addin'. "We all do." Givin' her one last look, he turned and walked through the door.

* * *

Rick, the good host, had managed to get them their own cell for the night. Darcy wasn't sure who previously occupied it but she made sure Rick knew to thank them.

She ended up sharing the bottom bunk with Daniels while Jacob slept on the top, grumbling the whole time. He hadn't wanted to share a cell with the young couple, knowing exactly what they got up to when they had a bed to themselves. Darcy tried to convince him that nothing would happen, not with someone sleeping a few feet away but Jacob just reminded her of the time they had got caught having sex on their last scouting mission while the others slept around the fire in the open road where they'd set up camp.

She blushed and Daniels told him to "shut up", seeing the embarrassment on her face. It wasn't her finest moment but she couldn't help herself. Daniels tended to having wondering fingers that knew all the right places.

She knew Jacob was right, and they probably would have ended up doing at least _something_ dirty as soon as they thought he was asleep but tonight wasn't like other nights. Tonight her mind was still focusing on the man from her past.

But Daniels didn't notice, or maybe he did and he thought he knew how to make her feel better because just as she suspected, as soon as Jacob's light snores filled the room, Daniels' fingers slipped from her waist, where he laid spooning behind her, to the top of her panties which she chose to sleep in.

She rolled her eyes but a small smile lifted her lips. "Stop it," she whispered to him, her voice barely audible. Even as the words slipped out of her lips, she could still feel goose-bumps appear on her skin as his caress left a burning trail of lust behind. Behind her ear, she could feel his lips turn up in a smile against her skin.

"Can tell there's something bothering you, babe," he whispered back, fingers dipping low and into her panties. "Lemme make you feel better, huh?"

Her eyes fell closed and she bit her lip, not giving him an answer. Maybe he was right. Maybe this would help her forget her pain for a moment.

When he made contact with her clit, he caressed it gently and slowly, and didn't increase the pressure or speed until he could feel her swelling in arousal. Her breathing started to hitch as she tried her hardest to remain quiet and he couldn't help but grin into her shoulder.

Unknown to him, she wasn't laying there being pleasured by him in the prison cell. She was back in time, before the Dead destroyed the world, in her room, and talking to her Daryl.

It was his voice, the dirty things he'd whispered in her ear once upon a time that sent her over the edge, her body stiffening as she cried out into her pillow, _her _Daryl's name on the tip of her tongue.

* * *

The next morning she was filled with guilt, and she felt like her head was a mess of tangled wires. She had thought of another man while being pleasured by Daniels, and it made her feel like a total slut. It hadn't meant to happen but with the name 'Daryl' being used so often around her, she couldn't stop thinking about the Daryl she once knew.

She wasn't sure where that left her and Daniels. Should she break it off with him? They'd never really made their relationship official. They hadn't even spoke about it. It started about a month after she'd been found by them – around a year after the outbreak – and she'd been in tears, needing comfort, and they'd just sort of ended up in bed together.

"You guys got everything?" Rick questioned, a hand on the gun which rested in its holster on his hip.

Darcy glanced up from where she rested against the driver's door of the car Rick was lending them. Glancing over at the trunk, where Daniels and Jacob was throwing in their gear, she nodded and turned back to Rick. "Yeah, think so."

"Alright," Rick nodded back. "Me, Glenn and Tyreese'll be in the next car. Daryl's takin' his bike." He frowned slightly. Daryl's decision to ride alone was concerning the sheriff. There was room in the car but Daryl refused and didn't explain why. Rick couldn't understand what was bothering his hunter, and he knew from experience that he couldn't just ask him.

"Got'cha." Darcy told him before pushing herself off the car and walking round to the passenger's seat. She didn't want to sit in the back – it made her feel like a child so she made sure she got her spot early. Getting herself comfortable with one foot resting outside of the car, she sighed heavily – there was his name _again_. Daryl. _Daryl. _DarylDarylDaryl. It seemed that she'd never stop hearing it.

_The sooner we leave, the better,_ she thought to herself, hoping that once they left these people, everything would go back to normal and she would be able to leave her past buried once again. That way she wouldn't have to think about her 'relationship' with Daniels and everything could remain as it was.

Once everyone was finished doing their thing, they headed towards their cars and climbed inside. At the end of the yard, Darcy could see Carl – Rick's son – and the short grey haired woman – named Carly or Carol – standing by the front gate, ready to let them out.

Jacob climbed into driver's seat while Daniels grumbled about sitting in the back, making Darcy cover up her laugh with a cough. He narrowed his eyes at her playfully through the rear-view mirror as Rick waved a hand out of his car window, signalling them all to get going.

Since Rick's group didn't know the way – they had a map but that was mostly so they could find their way back – Jacob pulled out in front and drove carefully down the yard to the main front gates which were pulled open once they were close enough.

Behind them, Rick gave them a wave as they drove past, and received one back in return as the prison became smaller and smaller in the back window.

* * *

She fell asleep with her head resting against the car door, her jacket being used as a pillow. It's not surprising really – she'd spent most of the night tossing and turning, trying her hardest to just _shut the fuck off_ but her brain wouldn't let her.

She couldn't stop herself from thinking about Daryl. _Her _Daryl, and Rick's Daryl, and the fact that they were in an unfamiliar place, and she was sleeping in a _cell_, and she'd thought of another man while being pleasured by Daniels. She didn't know who she felt like she'd betrayed more – Daniels or Daryl.

As she slept, she found herself in another dream-memory. It was just hours after she'd called Daryl from her cell for the first time, and she'd been heading towards the strip club where she'd meant to be working for the night. It was also the first time she'd witnessed the virus for herself.

_She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel as she peered into the dark street. Ahead of her were several cars which seemed to go on and on. She had no idea how long the traffic went on for and she bit her lip, realizing that she was more than likely going to be late for her shift._

_Reaching forward, she turned on her radio, hoping that the local news might give her some kind of insight._

"-Spread quicker than anyone could have anticipated."_A male voice spoke seriously. _"It's not like any virus we have encountered before. It is incredibly contagious and I suggest that people isolate themselves immediately. It's the only way to stop it from spreading any further than it already has."

"I disagree,"_a woman argued with him. _"People should be gearing up. Heading towards safe-zones. Sticking together!"_she argued passionately. _"It's the only way to survive this."

_A third male voice spoke up, someone Darcy recognized as the host of the radio station. _"It almost sounds like you're implying it's the end of the world."

"That's because it is,"_ she spoke plainly. _"No one has managed to control it. It's appearing randomly in every area. It's predicted that by tomorrow morning, thousands more people will be infected."

_Darcy stared at the radio with her mouth hanging open, unsure that she was hearing it correctly. Were they seriously having a debate about...the end of the world? Safe-zones? Shit, she really should pay more attention to the news._

_With a worried frown on her face, she picked up her phone and called her Mother's number. _

"Hey, baby." _Jasmine's voice answered after two rings. Woman always practically lived on her phone._

"_Mom…"_ _she hesitated for a moment, eyes squinting as people started to remove themselves from their cars. She couldn't really see because it was quite a few cars ahead of her so she couldn't make out why they were getting out. "Have you seen the news?"_

"Nah, just a bunch of mumble-jumble if you ask me." _She replied in a voice Darcy could only described as her 'debate' voice, which meant Darcy knew exactly what was coming and couldn't help but roll her eyes:_ "If you ask me, baby, they're just trying to scare us. Ain't nothing bad gonna happen. You'll see."

_Darcy didn't reply straight away, she was too busy watching as a car appeared out of nowhere like something out of an action movie. The driver must have been speeding pretty damn fast and she watched as the car flew – no wheels on the ground at all – over a fountain which sat on some grass by the side-walk. There was a loud crash as it hit the side of front one car and the back side of another, causing both of the victim cars to side across the road and into their neighbouring cars. _

"_Holy shit." Darcy whispered, her heart speeding up and grip tightening on the phone without realizing. The car which crashed into them flew upwards, flipping head over heels and landing onto the two already damaged cars. "Mom, I think you're wrong about this one." Her voice was scared and embarrassingly high-pitched. _

"What was that, baby?" _Jasmine questioned loudly. _"I can't hear you properly – what was that noise? Is everything okay?"

_As her Mother's voice got frantic on the phone due to Darcy's lack of response, Darcy watched with both fear and disbelief as the driver of the car climbed out, revealing a lady with blood gushing from her forehead and soaking their long, blonde hair. One of her arms was bent in a awkward position but she paid no attention to it as she pulled herself out of the upside down car which surely should have killed her upon impact._

"_Mom," Darcy whispered, eyes wide and dry from the lack of blinking. "I think we better start packing our things."_

The fear she'd felt in that moment woke up her with a startled gasp. She sat there, heart beating frantically and trying to calm her breaths without drawing any attention to herself. It was like she was sitting in that car witnessing it all over again.

The woman who should have died was only the start of the mayhem that night. Darcy, being stuck in traffic with no way of moving, had no choice in the end but to make a run for it. It was one of the scariest things she'd ever done, even to this day. The feeling of running in the darkest, knowing those creatures were around was something she couldn't even begin to describe.

As she ran, screams kept appearing from every street. There was blood covering houses, and even a small child's body lying in the middle of the road. Darcy had stopped at that point, not being able to run away from an injured child but soon regretted her decision when the child turned out to be one of _them_.

She kept trying to call Daryl but he wasn't answering his phone. Fear had spiked through her body as she worried that they had managed to get to him. In the end, she got home with no injuries and her, her Mom and Alec had packed their shit before leaving town. At that point, they'd had no idea where they were heading. They just knew that their home was no longer safe.

"You alright?" Jacob questioned her with concern, turning his gaze from the road to her repeatedly. He'd heard her wake up, and from the look on her face, it hadn't been a good dream.

She gave him a tight smile and nodded. A hand came down on her shoulder from behind and she couldn't help but jump as she turned to face Daniels, who was trying to offer her whatever comfort he could from the back seat.

Resting back against the seat, she let him comfort her as she tried to calm herself. "How long we been on the road for?" she questioned, hating how shaky her voice was and she knew the others had heard it too because she felt Daniels squeeze her shoulder before removing his hand.

"'Bout an hour," Daniels answered, his voice soft, before Jacob could talk. "Which means we're 'bout an hour away."

Darcy nodded mutely, her head resting back against the head rest. For a moment, her eyes went to the side mirror and she spotted Rick's car behind them. Glenn seemed to be talking about something, making Tyreese who sat in the back throw his head back and laugh while Rick's lips barely even twitched. Behind their car was Daryl on his bike.

She watched the way he moved on the bike, his bangs being blown by the wind. He was wearing a leather body warmer which she remembered having angel wings on the back, and she could see the strap from his crossbow across his body.

The body warmer was open, showing a dirty greenish grey shirt which clung – rather sexily, in her opinion – against his stomach and chest as the wind hit it. She knew he was toned from his arms, which were basically porn, but she didn't know that he was toned all over his body.

She couldn't help but wonder what he looked like topless, with the 'V' on his lower stomach showing, along with the trail of hair which led to his-

Shaking her head, she pulled her eyes away and looked out of the front window at the road. She couldn't deny that Daryl was attractive, but he was also a pain in her ass which was causing her emotional problems.

Oh well, they'd be home soon and hopefully her problem would go away.

* * *

Darcy smiled as they approached the brick walls that sat either side of the large front gates, which were protected with heavily armed guards. They stood inside, looking out for any kind of threat, and they immediately went on alert when the cars started to approach them and stopped just outside.

Daniels stepped out of the car, holding one hand up to Rick, signalling for him to stay put as he spoke loud enough for the guards to hear. "It's just us – our car broke down and these kind people lent us a hand."

"Passcode?" The one to the right, named Chase, shouted out.

The passcode wasn't really a code. They didn't run by that kind of system – Darcy wouldn't be able to keep herself from laughing if they did. It wasn't a "What's the secret word?" type thing – it was a precaution they had in place for when strangers were with them.

"Green." Daniels replied, making them lower their guns.

'Green' meant just that – it gave them the green light, letting them know everything was cool. 'Yellow' meant unsure – Basically saying keep a close eye out and don't let your guard down. 'Red' meant stop, drop, and open fire. And all this meant if the group was a bad one, and had possibly taken their own people hostage, they could communicate without the outsiders knowing.

Chase and his friend pulled open the gates and instead of getting back into the car, Daniels walked inside the safety of the base, waving for Rick to follow behind them.

Rick was treading carefully. This place was unknown territory, and he still couldn't say he trusted them completely, which is exactly why he brought Daryl, Glenn, and Tyreese. "Keep an eye out," he mumbled under his breath, trying to make it look like his lips weren't moving. "We still don't know these people."

"Trust me," Glenn muttered back, eyes watching the rear-view mirror as they entered the base and the gates were closed behind them, effectively locking them inside. "I'm not even gonna blink."

"Good."

* * *

**Here's chapter 3!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Atlanta

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! You guys keep me going!**

**Sorry for the late update. Life got crazy! **

* * *

**Atlanta**

Once the cars were inside and the gates were closed, everyone exited and headed towards each other. Rick's group was weary; their hands no far from their weapons and their eyes searching the area as if there was hidden snipers on top of the buildings.

Well, there was, but that wasn't the point.

"C'mon," Jack waved them over as he headed towards the front building where two large glass doors stood. It was the front entrance, where they went to unpack their findings. A few of the helpers would put them away, give items to the people who needed them – or requested – and packed the food away in the pantry. They had a good little system going and everyone had a job to do, even the children.

Darcy walked ahead of them all, just wanting away from the group and most of all, the redneck who seemed to be watching everything with an expert gaze. It was like he was trying to see any secrets they had and it made her feel uncomfortable. It made her feel like he could uncover everything with just a single glance.

Not that they had anything to hide. They honestly were the good people. She just didn't like the idea that he could look at her like that and figure her out. It made her feel vulnerable.

She pushed open the doors when she reached them, one hand on each. When they opened to a certain point, they stiffened and stayed open so she didn't have to worry about holding them open for the people behind her.

She immediately began her usual route and walked over to the front desk where an old man nicknamed Jabby stood. The idea of a receptionist was a laughable one in this day and age but it was surprisingly a much needed role when you ran your own safe-zone.

People would often need someone to speak to – whether it was to ask for advice or to request an item on the next run, or even make a suggestion – which was why they placed Jabby there.

Jabby was a fifty-seven year old man with a wife and no kids, and he could also talk for hours on end if you let him. He was too old to be placed out on runs and he hadn't a clue when it came to cooking or gardening or cleaning. So the role suited him damn well.

"G-good to see you're back home and safe, Darcy," Jabby smiled at her warmly, his voice shaking slightly. "What h-have you got for us this time I wonder?"

She couldn't help but smile back at him as she removed her AK from her shoulder and placed it on the desk. Jabby took it, ready to be loaded in the armoury for later. Only the patrols and look-outs were allowed to carry guns – a lot less accidents that way. Untrained civilians weren't allowed any kind of weapon whereas people like Darcy – not quite military but not your average untrained civilian – was allowed to carry a knife. Mostly just in case there was an outbreak and they needed as many people as they could to help.

"Just crap this time, Jab," she told him, leaning her elbows on the desk. Behind her, Jack and Jacob entered, allowing Rick, Tyreese, Glenn and Daryl in behind them.

"Welcome to our home." She heard Jack tell them proudly.

"Dear, nothing you find is crap," Jabby chuckled, pulling out a sticky pad and noting down that the AK had a broken strap which would need to be repaired. He stuck it on the side of the gun. "Nowadays, everything is gold."

"Very deep." She nodded with an amused smile.

Jabby breathed out a chuckle. "I h-have my moments."

"Here ya go, Jabby." Jacob said before lifting the rucksack's onto the counter. He patted the top of them.

Jabby picked them up one-by-one before placing them onto the floor next to him. "I'll get the girls on it." He was referring to the girls who sorted out the stuff and put it in its right place. "Found more folks?" he guessed, flicking his head towards Rick's group.

"Uh," Jack chuckled, wiping the back of his hand along his forehead. He exchanged a look with Rick. "More like they found us." He corrected and the two men shared a smile.

Rick turned to Jabby and walked forward, offering his hand. "My name's Rick Grimes." They shook.

"You've got a s-strong handshake, Rick," Jabby told him with a nod. "I like that in a man."

Darcy used her hand to hide her smile. She could totally think of a gay joke to go with that but she didn't think Jabby would appreciate it so she kept it to herself. She couldn't help but peak at Jack though, to see if it might have occurred to him as well. When she found his own eyes twinkling with amusement, she knew that it had, and she covered her laugh with a cough.

"Thank you, sir." Rick replied respectfully. He let go of his hand and gestured behind him where his group stood. "This Glenn, Daryl and Tyreese."

"Nice to m-meet you." Jabby told them before eying Daryl's weapon. "That's a Stryker, right?"

Daryl looked taken back for a moment, as if he hadn't expected to be spoken to, but he soon recovered with a curt nod. "Yessir." He confirmed politely, the crossbow resting side-ways in his arms.

Jabby gave him an approving smile. "I enjoyed a good crossbow before…well, you know." He waved a hand around.

Daryl have him another curt nod and repeated, "Yessir." quietly.

There was a brief moment of awkward silence and Darcy chose that moment to make her exit. "See you later, Jabby." She said before pushing herself away from the counter.

"Bye, d-dear."

* * *

She managed to avoid Rick and his group for most of the day. She'd see them around but would purposely distract herself, making herself look busy so they didn't feel like approaching her.

She didn't like being rude – it wasn't how she was brought up – but she just wanted them gone already. Sure, they were good people and it would be a good idea to keep them as allies but she didn't want to have to be around that _Daryl_ guy.

So she chatted to people she hadn't spoken to in a while, using the 'we need to catch up' excuse, and she even helped out with a few of the chores. Anything to keep her busy until they left.

But then dinner time came around and she realized that they were staying to eat, most likely for the rest of night.

And as she placed the food on her tray, she wished that she'd skipped the meal altogether when she heard Daniels call out her name.

_Great, _she mentally sighed, picking up her plate and turning around with a fake smile on her face. She saw that they were all sitting at one of the larger tables and Jack was waving over to her.

_Damn you and your thoughtfulness,_ she grumbled to herself as she headed over to them. She had to dodge the busy table and chairs and she could barely hear herself among all the chatting around her.

Slipping between another pair of chairs, she finally reached the table and greeted them with a "Hey guys," – which she hoped sounded cheery – before taking the only seat which was left available.

And of course, that seat was the one between Daryl and Jack.

Gah.

Her luck _sucked._

Placing her tray on the table, she mentally winced when her arm accidentally brushed against Daryl's and she glanced over at him, giving him an apologetic smile before quickly looking away once more. It felt awkward and she found herself desperate to say something, so she blurted out the first thing that came to her:

"How'd you like our home so far?" she hated the way her voice sounded. It reminded her of one of those over-the-top nice and chatty girls who could talk for America. And from the way Rick raised his eyebrows, he just have noticed too.

Double _gah._

Stupid nerves making her say stupid things.

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid-_

Rick nodded as he chewed and swallowed his food. "It's…impressive." He answered approvingly. He scooped up another spoonful of beans and rice before questioning, "It might be stupid to ask but…how'd you guys come across this place?"

"We were based here." Jack answered for both him and Jacob. "Captain Mayweather runs this joint. Made it what it is."

Rick breathed out a laugh, looking rather sheepish. "This is a lot of names to remember." He said in a tone which suggested that he'd forgotten half of them already.

Jacob also laughed and reached over, patting Rick's back. "Don't worry, man. I barely know anyone's name here either. I just call the chicks 'honey' and the men 'dude'-"

Jack punched his shoulder with an amused face. "Shit, man, at least try and look professional." He told him jokingly. "You're gonna make us look bad." They shared a laugh.

"So, Darcy, what did you do before all this?" Glenn questioned, using his fork to gesturing around them.

She went to frown before realizing that Glenn hadn't been there when Rick had asked the very same question. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell him the same damn lie which she gave everyone else when Jacob cut her off.

"She worked as a phone sex operator, huh, Darce?" Jacob told them with a shit eating grin.

For a moment her mouth went dry, her heart skipped a beat and she panicked. How the _fuck_ did Jacob know? Had Jasmine told him? Was he freakin' psychic? But then he winked in her direction and a weird sensation ran through her when her heartbeat returned to normal.

Crisis averted. He was only teasing.

_Thank fuck for that._

Next to her, Jack snorted in his seat. "Yeah, she spent her evenings talking to horny men. Made a pretty penny too." He said, going along with the joke.

Jacob overly nodded, pointing his fork in her direction. "It's why her and Jack are always at it. She's a kinky one. Y'all know what them slutty phone operators are like-"

Everyone took it as a joke, and Glenn's face was freakin' hilarious, Darcy had to admit, but there was one person on the table who didn't take the joke very lightly.

Daryl.

"Ain't a slut jus' 'cause they need to make a livin'," Daryl growled at him, his accent thicker. "Ain't different from any other job. Or maybe y'all too dumb to realize the _difference?_" he spat before he seemed to freeze, and it was like he suddenly realized what he'd just done because his express changed to something painful before he pushed himself away from the table and stood up, making a bee line for the exit.

Their table was surrounded with awkward silence and Darcy couldn't help but wonder what made Daryl angry like that. She doubted that it was because Jacob joked about her being a 'slut'; she doubted that he'd done it to defend her. Daryl had been there when Rick asked what Darcy did for a living and Darcy told them both that she worked at a call centre. So Daryl knew that Jacob had been joking.

Wait…or had Daryl stormed off before Rick had a chance to ask? _Geez, this guy likes to make an exit. _It was possible that he'd already left when Rick had asked before, which meant that maybe Daryl didn't know that Jacob was only fooling around.

So did that mean he _did_ get angry and defended her? Or maybe he felt the need to defend someone else? Maybe his Mom had run a phone sex line? Or maybe a sister? Hell, maybe even a girlfriend.

She got lost in her thoughts as they all talked about why Daryl reacted the way he did, and Tyreese went after him before Jacob told Glenn that he was only joking. She just couldn't help but wonder if _her_ Daryl would have reacted the same way. Would he have defended her like that?

_Hell-to-the-yes_ he would have, she knew.

She felt the urge to go outside, where Daryl and Tyreese stood, and talk to Daryl about his past. Maybe ask him questions. She wanted to know why it had been such a sore subject for him.

But she decided to leave it, knowing that if he'd just done it because he was in a mood and wanted a reason to snap at someone – hey, male PMS existed, she knew – then she'd sound like a crazy person if she tried to make something out of nothing.

Still...his arms sure did look sexy as he walked away.

_Oh yes sir-ry._

* * *

After they finished eating, Darcy headed back to her room. Jack had stopped her and whispered in her ear, asking her if she wanted to spend the night with him in a tone of voice which let her know that if she accepted, they wouldn't be doing any sleeping.

So much to his disappointment, she declined. She still felt guilty about thinking of another man while his fingers pleasured her – she couldn't trust that she'd end up doing the same while they had sex.

_Slut_. She told herself, knowing she deserved it. Her ex always had said that something was wrong with her. Looks like he'd been right all along.

She headed into her small sleeping quarters and closed the door behind her. It wasn't too bad; it was bigger than most of the rooms since it was for families who slept on-site with their loved one. She only had the room because she had a roommate. If it was just her, she'd have been stuck in a room that was hardly even considered a room – it was more like a cupboard.

"Hey, sweetie." Her roommate called out from her room, voice muffled slightly from the door which separated them.

"Hey, Mom." Darcy called backed. "I'll speak to you in the morning, yeah? I'm goin'a bed. Love you!" She called out quickly before her Mom could ramble on about how happy she was that she was safe.

She quickly slid into her room before removing her clothes – leaving her in her underwear – and climbing onto the bed. She didn't bother getting under the covers – just laid face down on top of them.

"When did everything get so damn complicated?" she huffed to herself, voice muffled as she thought about her situation with Daniels. He'd want answers, she knew, but she wasn't sure she was ready to give them yet.

'_You see, Jack, that Daryl guy reminds me of this guy I kinda used to love. I never met him but we phone sexed. A lot. And yeah…I loved him but never told him and then the world ended before I got to meet him, and his name was Daryl so I'm kinda frustrated at the moment since Rick has a Daryl on his team and it keeps reminding me of my Daryl, you see? Oh, by the way, the other night when you were rubbing my clit and making me cum, I thought of the times me and Daryl would phone sex and he'd make me orgasm so hard I thought I was flying.'_

She bit at her cheek. Somehow, she didn't think that would go down too well.

Releasing a low moaning into her pillow, she deflated into the bed and tried to push all thoughts from her mind. All she wanted right now was to sleep.

_On their way out of town, they stopped at a gas station. It was a low-price one which was practically abandoned and no one really used it, much less knew it existed, which is why it was one of Jasmine's favourite places to go._

_Darcy paced outside of the car, phone held up to her ear as she attempted to reach Daryl. Sadly, the call didn't connect and she sighed heavily, disappointment filling her heart once again. _

_And the suddenly, the phone rang in her hand. _

_Daryl._

_Her heart jumped with joy and it barely had the chance to chime once more before she answered it._

"_Ya didn't answer ya phone. Tried callin' ya a second ago." Was his greeting to her, sounding worried and out of breath. _

_She choked out a small laugh. He was okay! "Uh, yeah, probably cause I was trying to call you."_

"_Oh." That didn't seem to offer him much comfort. "Look, Darcy, ya need to get somewhere safe. The worlds gone fuckin' crazy."_

_The panic in his voice only made her panic worse. "I know," she told him, glancing around her to make sure nothing was sneaking up behind her. "I-I saw it." Her throat tightened._

"_Shit, you're okay, ain'tcha? Didn't getcha self bit?" his voice was full of worry. "Tell me you're alright, Darce."_

_She nodded even though he couldn't see. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She reassured him. "W-what about you?"_

"'_M fine."_

"_Good." She breathed, glancing around and looking into the shop window where Jasmine stood, talking with the owner. Darcy rolled her eyes. "Now is not the time to be makin' conversation, Mom." She mumbled under her breath._

"_Huh?" Daryl questioned, confused as fuck._

_She mentally face-palmed. "My Mom's paying for gas. I'm waiting outside." She offered as a weak explanation, hoping that she didn't sound completely bonkers. _

"_Are ya fuckin' stupid? Standin' outside on ya own? Fuck, Darcy." His voice was angry now. "Ya try'na get yourself killed?"_

_She suddenly felt like a child being told off. "No, I was just waiting with Alec." She told him, turning around and looking into the back window of their car. Alec had been bitten while they were loading the car. The mark was on his hand but seemed to affect his whole body. Looking down at herself, she almost threw up at the blood which coated her shirt from the infected person they had to kill in order to get it to let go of Alec. "He's bit. I didn't want to stay in the car with him," most because he was honestly scaring her with his groans of pain – they reminded her too much of the infected people. "But I can't just leave him-"_

"_Fuck Alec,"_ _he spat. "If he's been bit, he's dead anyways."_ _She opened her mouth to tell him that he was being harsh but he continued, cutting her off. "Look, ain't got a whole lotta time."_

_She frowned, wondering what he meant. "Is your battery running out?" she guessed._

_He ignored her. "Jus' listen to me. I want'cha to come meet me." It sounded like he was running now. _

_Her eyes widened in shock. That was the last thing she expected to hear from him. "W-what?" she choked out._

"_In Atlanta - there's an evac. Me n' Merle are goin'. Want'cha to meet us there, a'ight? I'ma keep you safe."_

_It occurred to her in that moment just how serious this outbreak was. Evac's? The abandoned houses that they'd passed? Abandoned streets? How the fuck had it gone from a few infected people to towns being raided and left behind within just a few hours?_

"_But ya gotta stay away from cities. Try'n take the back-roads." He was shouting now, sounding like he was in trouble. "Make sure ya take supplies, and Darce, ya gotta-" silence._

_Confused and scared, she glanced down at her phone and saw the 'No signal' sign blinking at her. "What?" she whispered in confusion, glancing up at the lit-up signs which sat above the gas station. The electricity couldn't have gone down or the lights would have turned off…right? _

_Unless they had a generator, she supposed._

_Gulping, she saw her Mom walking out of the shop and heading towards her._

"_You alright, sweetie?" Jasmine questioned her worriedly._

_Darcy nodded before snapping out of whatever fear-trance she was in. "Mom, I know where we've gotta go."_

_Jasmine looked hopeful and quirked an eyebrow at her. "Oh?"_

"_We've gotta get to Atlanta."_

* * *

**Thanks for reading! :)!**


	5. Pfft, men

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**Sorry for any mistakes in this chapter. My brain isn't functioning properly but I wanted to get it up!**

* * *

**Pfft, men.**

Daryl was fuckin' _pissed._

T'fuck that blonde asshole think he was, sayin' shit like that? Didn't he have any kinda respect? Don't matta whether he was jokin' about or not; a man shouldn't speak about a woman like that, and that Daniels guy was a fuckin' _pussy_ for not standin' up for his girl.

Although the rant in his head made total sense, Daryl knew that it wasn't the real reason he was pissed. Sure, he didn't like it when guys spoke to girls like shit but it weren't none of his business and he couldn't give a crap. They were all friends in there and it wasn't his job to say somethin' in her defense. _Nuh-uh._

His _real _problem was that Jacob guy had pretty match called _his_ Darcy a slut, the one who still appeared in his dreams and affected him to this very day. She was hauntin' him like a spirit who wasn't ready to cross over yet.

He could tell from the looks on their faces that it was only a joke an' they were only tryin'a tease Glenn but he weren't only angry at Jacob, he was also angry at himself for bein' hopeful. Hopeful that maybe he'd found her. But naw – it was only a joke.

"Fuck." He breathed out, his back restin' against the buildin' as he stood outside, tryin' to convince himself that goin' back in there and puncin' Jacob in the head was a bad idea.

Slippin' his hand into the pocket of his pants, he pulled out the items he needed before glancin' down at his palm and rubbin' his thumb over 'em softly.

A silver bracelet with lucky charms sat on top of a business card – Darcy's business card. It was tattered and torn in places with a bloody thumb print and blood splatters coverin' it. It looked like shit compared to what it looked like when he first got it but he couldn't bring himself to throw it away.

Merle would prolly smack him around the head but…Daryl kept 'em both 'cause they reminded him of his Darcy and havin' 'em in his pocket was like havin' a bit of her everywhere he went.

He rubbed his thumb over the charm bracelet one last time 'fore he heard someone step outside next to him. He cursed under his breath while tryin' to slide 'em back into his pants pocket.

"Hey, Daryl, you alright, man?" Tyreese walked over to him, his expression concerned. "We're worried about you in there. Not like you to explode like that."

Daryl just shrugged, thankful that Tyreese either didn't seem him putting the items away, or he did and just didn't bother questioning him about it. "Jus'…don't like bein' away from the group, ya know? Leavin' 'em defenceless like that with the Gov still out there." He wasn't exactly lying.

Tyreese nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean, man, but remember - Karen, Bob and Hershel are lookin' after the place. They won't let anything happen. And it's only for one night. Everything'll be fine, man." He assured him, patting him on the shoulder.

Daryl gave him a jerky nod in return.

* * *

The next morning Darcy woke up with her mouth wide open and _extremely _dry because of it. She smacked her lips together and licked them, trying to return the moisture as she moaned lazily, not ready to get up and face the world.

Well, more like face Jack.

She briefly wondered if she would be able to stay in bed for the day. Or at least for a few more hours until the prison group was gone. Then all she would have to worry about was facing Daniels and that wouldn't be as much as a big deal with Daryl gone – the reminder of her past which was casing her problems.

But she knew she couldn't. She had to take watch on top of the infirmary with Chase and she couldn't miss the opportunity for anything.

See, civilians like Darcy weren't really allowed to do the soldiers job unless they had a particular skill which would benefit them. They were supposed to cook, clean and do other boring chores while the soldiers kept them safe.

Darcy had lasted about a week before she'd had enough and decided that she didn't want to spend however long she had left to live – these days, you didn't know if it was a day, a week, or a month – doing boring ass chores.

And she'd _begged_ Daniels to teach her; to give her a chance at being more than just a pair of hands. It took a while but he accepted and he spent his free time training her to defend herself, to fire a weapon and the best way to use a knife. He trained her to be the best she could be; to strengthen her weaknesses and encourage her strengths. He trained her to become a soldier. It only pushed them closer together and Darcy realized that it was only a matter of time before they ended up in bed together, really.

Even though that was almost a year ago now(or maybe even _over_ a year ago, she didn't have a calendar) she still wasn't where she wanted to be. Slowly over time, she was trying to prove herself to the other soldiers that she was capable of doings the things they did.

It was only two months ago that they started letting her out on runs and that was _only_ if Daniels was there to watch over her. He knew what she was capable of and that she was even better than a few soldiers he knew but the others still had yet to see it. Captain Mayweather wasn't exactly happy about letting a civilian(let alone a _girl_) out on the field but he owed Daniels a favour and Daniels called him up on it.

Guilt filled her heart; she owed so much to Daniels. If it wasn't for him, her and her Mom wouldn't be alive and she'd still be scrubbing the floors of the cafeteria. Not only did he save her life, he also gave her the opportunity to be more than she could ever have dreamed of.

Maybe that was part of the reason why she started sleeping with him; she felt like she owed him. That and he was _very_ well built and attractive. Yet somehow, despite how perfect he seemed to be (like every girl in the base seemed to think so), she couldn't seem to feel anything more for him than friendship and lust.

"Darcy, c'mon! It's time to wake up!" Jasmine sing-songed like Darcy's personal alarm clock. Even with the end of the world, some things never changed.

"I'm up!" Darcy called in reply, her voice filled with sleep as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. Her hair felt heavy on her head, letting her know just how tangled and messy she'd managed to make it in her sleep. It was a talent, she swore.

Eventually, and reluctantly, she managed to pull herself from the comfort and warmth of her bed before lazily getting herself dressed after a wash using a bucket of water and a cloth. Her choice of clothing was the same as most days; black combat pants with a leather thigh holster for her knife; a rather tight, green, short-sleeved shirt which she tucked into her pants and an over-sized camouflaged patterned jacket. It was too big for her and she had to roll up the sleeves so she could actually use her hands but she loved it, and more importantly, she loved what it stood for.

Jack had given it to her after he'd declared her training complete. He'd told her that there was nothing more he could do and the rest was up to her now; she had to earn the respect of the other soldiers, and the Captain, and move herself up in the ranks but in his eyes, she was already at his level.

It was a sweet moment and she couldn't help but think that if she'd been in love with him, it would have been that moment when she'd told him so.

Once her hair was tamed(braided and resting against the front of her right shoulder) and she looked more human and less like the walking dead which roamed the streets, she stalked out of her room and into the lounge where she found Jasmine who was getting ready for her daily tasks(tidying the kitchen). She placed a quick kiss on her cheek before heading out of their shared accommodation and towards another stepping stone in the career(if she can even consider it that).

As she made her way towards the infirmary, she found herself nervous with butterflies fluttering against the walls of her belly. With everything going on, she'd barely had time to think about her duties.

She'd taken watch before but that was more about keeping Daniels or Jacob company than anything. This time, it was _her_ duty. If something messed up, it would be on _her_. The thought made her anxious and she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

And worst of all? She wouldn't have Daniels or Jacob there to help her through it. For the first time, she was on her own. _Well_, not on her _own_ because Chase was going to be there with her but she wouldn't have her friends there to support her like they'd been doing all along.

As she passed the cafeteria, she noticed Rick and Glenn standing outside the entrance chatting away to Daryl. She tried to ignore the way his bed hair made her insides clench(because _damn_, it was hot) and gave them a smile as she passed, briefly wondering where there other man was. Tyreese, was it?

She wasn't planning on stopping and talking to them but Rick returned her smile when he saw her and placed a hand out in front of her, giving her a small, "Hey, Darcy?" it wasn't a greeting so much; it sounded more like a question.

"What's up?" she questioned, stopping and hoping that whatever he needed wasn't going to take too long because she really needed to get to her post.

Ha – _her post_.

Her stomach clenched in both fear and excitement.

"We wanted to talk to Daniels about those supplies," his smile was apologetic, as if he thought it was rude calling her over and taking time out of her day to ask her about Jack's whereabouts. "Do you know where I can find him?"

"Uh…" She bit her lip for a moment. He'd be awake, she knew; he'd always been an early riser and it wasn't uncommon for him to be awake before anyone else. The man looked after the place better than the Captain did – it was almost laughable. But she wasn't sure about his schedule. She knew that she was taking watch instead of Jacob(he was the main reason as to _why_ she was allowed to do it).

And usually Daniels took watch with Jacob but instead, Chase was covering for him, so she could only assume that they were doing something together. And when Jacob wasn't taking watch, he was usually playing around with the vehicles(she swore that man had a fetish for his cars). Only problem was, outsiders weren't allowed near the military vehicles for obvious reasons.

She didn't have enough time to go and get him so that was out of the question but the reception was only a few feet away and while she stupidly left her radio in her room, she would be able to find one there. Which meant that this was probably a good thing since she would have needed to get a replacement anyway.

"Follow me." She told him after she'd gathered her thoughts. She wasn't lying when she said the reception was only a few feet away; it was opposite the cafeteria so they didn't have far to walk. She pushed the double doors open and walked over to Jabby who greeted her with a warm, father-y smile.

"Hey, Jabby, got a radio I can borrow?" she questioned, getting right to the point because time was running out and she really didn't want to be late for her watch.

"S-sure, honey." He told her. "Give me a sec." he headed towards the back room, making Darcy cringe at the silence which followed.

After a few seconds, she spoke without turning to Rick. "Jack's probably fiddling about with the vehicles." She told him, trying to make conversation so things weren't awkward. "Boys and their toys, huh?" she joked weakly.

"Yeah." Rick chuckled, resting his hip against the counter. "I hope we're not keeping you? I really appreciate this." He waved his hand, gesturing around the room.

She smiled and shook her head. "I don't mind. I've got 'bout five minute before I need to be on watch." She couldn't control the way her smile widened and her eyes twinkled as she said it. It felt good and she wished she could say it again, and again…and again until it lost it's novelty.

Jabby chose than moment to make his way back into the room. "Here we are." He said, heading over to them and passing her the radio. "Forget yours?" he guessed almost teasingly.

She gave him a sheepish half-smile. "Maybe." She admitted, lifting the radio up to her mouth and pressing the button. "JD come in. It's DK, over."

A moment passed before his voice appeared. "_JD here. Sup, babe? Over."_

She rolled her eyes at the pet name; only he would use it over the radio. "Rick needs to talk to you. He's at the front desk." She replied before adding, "Over." She hated doing it; it was so damn cheesy but when they were connected to everyone else's radio, they had no choice. If they didn't, the Captain would whoop their asses.

Silence and then: "_I'm on my way now; over."_

She didn't reply, only turned around and gave Rick a small smile. "There you go." She clipped the radio into the back of her pants.

"Thank you." Rick told her gratefully.

"No problem." She assured him before heading towards the exit. She gave Glenn and Daryl a little smile, which Glenn returned while Daryl just rolled his eyes.

The word _rude_ floated in her head but she didn't let his behaviour bother her; today was too big of a day to let the little things ruin it.

* * *

The rifle felt heavy in her hands; heavier than she remembered it being. Then again, the last time she handled one was with Daniels and they'd been lying down in a field, camouflaged as she attempted to hit the tin cans lined up on an old fence.

This was different because she had to hold the rifle and the longer she held it, the sorer it made her arms. She didn't complain though, knowing that Chase could spread the word around and she'd forever be teased for being _such a girl._

Instead she gritted her teeth through it and tried to rest most of the weight onto the ledge while she peered through the scope every few moments, briefly sharing small talk with Chase every once in a while.

On the building next to theirs sat two other riflemen. One she knew as Jared, someone she respected and had spoken to multiple times while the other she'd only really heard of – James. From what she knew, he was an okay guy who had a bit of a temper and got off on killing the Walkers a bit too much.

After two hours passed, she couldn't help but wonder _why_ she'd been looking forward to this duty. Her shoulder and arms hurt; she was bored as hell; and she was hungry, having forgotten to get breakfast in her haste to get to the rooftops.

Her companions seemed to be having fun though; they'd found an old baseball and were throwing it between the buildings at each other, rifles forgotten.

"Children." She muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. _Pfft; men. They were so damn immature-_

Chase heard her and laughed, giving her a pat on the back before throwing the ball over to Jared. "You want a go, Darce?" he offered her.

She brightened up with a grin, placing her rifle against the wall. "Hell yes."

* * *

She found it hard to catch her breath as she leaned against Chase, who was coughing along with his own laughter. Her stomach hurt and she was seriously worried that she was going to piss her pants as she tried to calm herself but continued to fail.

Her giggles were uncontrollable and she squeezed her legs together as if it would help with the pressure her laughter was putting on her bladder. "O-oh-oh-_oh m-my god!" _she gasped out desperately.

On the opposite rooftop, Jared continued to rub his head where the baseball had hit while James chuckled huskily at the situation.

Eventually the laughter died down but her grinned stayed, and not only because of the hilarious situation(Chase throwing the baseball while Jared wasn't concentrating and it ended up bouncing off his head) but because she felt like she belonged with them as they all took the piss out of Jared and he grumbled with a small, amused smile.

"I see you guys are busy up there!" Daniels' voice appeared from the ground below, making them jump. Darcy bit her lip guiltily as she peered over the edge of the building and gave him a small wave. He smiled and shook his head in amusement.

That was when she noticed Rick's group standing behind him, packing bags into their vehicle.

Huh. They must be going back to the prison.

"Always, boss!" Chase called back with a grin. It was a nickname of sorts; Daniels wasn't a higher rank than any of them but he did more work than the actual 'boss' himself(Mayweather) so most of the men referred to him as such.

After a brief chuckle at his team, Daniels shouted back up: "Rick and his group are heading back. What's the road like?"

Darcy took it upon herself to peek through the scope of her rifle, checking the landscape for any signs of the Walking dead. Of course she couldn't see all the way to the prison but the road was long and straight, letting her see about(what she guessed was) five-ten minutes down the road.

When she saw that it was all clear, she turned to Chase and gave him a nod.

Chase nodded back before relaying the news to Daniels: "All clear, man."

Daniels didn't reply; only gave them a small salute before heading towards Rick and his group, who were still packing items into the car, and repeating the message to them.

Darcy lent against the wall as she watched the prison group. It only took them a few more moments of packing before they were finished. Darcy seemed to take charge after that; walking towards his bike and hopping on, he turned back to give Rick some kind of whistle before waving and then his bike came to life as one of the men at the front gate pulled it open, allowing him to pass.

Rick only nodded back at Daryl before he, Glenn, and Tyreese climbed into the car.

Darcy watched as Daryl drove ahead without them, making her realize what he'd signalled to Rick; he was gonna make sure it was clear by going a head of them.

She couldn't help but admire his bravery. He may have been causing her problems but she couldn't deny that he was one hell of a man.

"Stop staring," Chase told her teasingly as he placed one foot onto the wall and looked through his rifle scope. "Daniels might be jealous."

She rolled her eyes and glanced down away, trying to hide the small blush she felt as she mumbled to him. "Shut up."

* * *

_The car was silent._

_Silent tears rolled down Jasmines cheeks, mixing with the fresh blood which had splattered on her face; blood which belonged to Alec._

_Darcy, too, was crying but more for her Mother's lost than anything. Truthfully, she'd never really got along with Alec. He always seemed so controlling and manipulating in a way that wasn't noticeable and was easily argued on his part if brought up. _

_So no, she didn't care much for him but she knew that Jasmine did and she hated knowing that her Mother was in pain, and there wasn't anything she could do about it._

_After a hour of sniffles, Jasmine finally spoke up:_

"_Baby, take my bracelet off, will you?"_

_Darcy looked at her confused but was too emotionally exhausted to argue. She reached across and fiddled with Jasmine's right wrist, where her silver good-luck charm bracelet dangled. _

_Once it was free, Darcy held it in the palm of her hand and smiled weakly as she ran a finger along the chain. She knew how much Jasmine loved this piece of jewellery, having been her own Mother's and passed on when she'd died. _

"_I want you to put it on." Jasmine told her, not even taking a moment to glance away from the road. Her voice was numb, making Darcy gulp and mentally question whether or not Jasmine was in the right mind to be giving her such a gift._

"_But Mom-" she went to argue, only to be cut off._

"_Please don't argue with me, baby," her words were firm, leaving no room for argument. "I want you to put it on so it can keep you safe."_

_She opened her mouth to tell her that it wasn't a protection bracelet; it was a lucky one but she figured that they could be seen as the same thing so she wrapped it around her wrist before clumsily trying to lock the ends together._

"_Thank you." Was the last thing Jasmine said until they reached the evac zone._

* * *

It wasn't until a month later that they heard from the prison group again.

She'd been on watch, something which had become routine to her thanks to Jared and Chase's good word, when a car headed down the road towards them.

"Jack, we got company." Darcy told him, one eye closed as the other peered down the scope on her rifle.

"Who is it?" Daniels questioned, walking over to the wall where she stood and picking up a pair of binoculars.

"Not sure." She replied. At the moment they were only a small, moving object and she couldn't see who the occupiers were. "They don't look dangerous." She pointed out, seeing that it was them and them alone; they could easily be taken down.

"Still, I'll let Chase know." He reached into the back of his pants and pulled out his radio. "CJ come in. It's JD, over."

"_CJ, here. What's up, boss?" _Today was Chase's turn to watch over the front gates while Daniels and Darcy were look-outs on the infirmary.

"Ready yourself. We've got company, over."

There was a pause before: "_Thanks for the warning. Over."_

Darcy squinted as the car got closer to them and she could just about see the figures inside of it. "Three males…and one female, I think." She mumbled, trying to make out there faces but the angle wasn't right.

"They looked armed?"

"No." Darcy assured him, not seeing any weapons near them. "Not that I can see, anyway."

"Alright. I'll let Mayweather know and then we'll-"

"Wait," she cut him off, her heart jumping in her chest for god knows what reason. "Is that a crossbow?" she questioned herself as they became more visible. "I think…I think it's Daryl."

Daniels frowned, a look which seemed to be constantly on his features lately. "From the prison?"

"Uh huh."

Grabbing his rifle, he pushed himself away from the wall and headed towards the hatch. "Best go and see what they want."

She turned her gaze away from the scope and bit at her cheek as she watched him leave, feeling jealous that he got to go and she didn't; she wanted to know the reason behind their unexpected visit. She couldn't help being so damn noisy – it was her Mom's fault.

"Go." Jacob's voice appeared from the building next to her, his tone amused. "I'll cover you. First sign of trouble though, I want you back up here, alright?"

She grinned and blew him a kiss before rushing over to the hatch. "Thank you!"

* * *

**Anyone looking for a beta reader job *cheese grin*? I'd appreciate the help!**

**Thanks for reading!**


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